Method and system for message routing

ABSTRACT

A method and system for forwarding information, such as a message waiting indicator (MWI) message, to a telephone number corresponding to a foreign network (e.g., a wireless network) and a shared NPA/NXX—The invention evaluates individual telephone numbers of shared NPA/NXXs to determine to what networks to send messages. A representative embodiment of the invention uses a service control point and service package application to deliver an MWI message from a messaging service provider to a wireless (i e., foreign network) telephone number of a shared NPA/NXX, Shared NPA/NXXs are marked as “portable” in a signal transfer point for forwarding to the service control point, which determines whether the shared NPA/NXX telephone numbers require local number portability global title translation or should be forwarded to an inter-switch voicemail routing (ISVMR) service package application. The ISVMR service package application determines the point code to which the MWI message should be routed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of copending U.S. utility applicationentitled, “Method and System for Message Routing,” having Ser. No.09/742,376, filed Dec. 22, 2000, which is entirely incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of switched telephony, andmore particularly, to a method and system for integrating wirelesstelephones into a wireline messaging environment.

2. Background of the Invention

With the proliferation of wireless communication networks, manytelephone customers now use a combination of wireline and wirelesstelephones to meet their communication needs. Indeed, it is not uncommonfor a single user to have more than one telephone line at home, morethan one telephone line at work, and at least one wireless telephone.Telephone customers have come to depend on the flexibility of thiscombination to communicate irrespective of location.

However, having multiple wireline and wireless telephone numberspresents problems retrieving telephone messages. Usually, a caller whocalls a user who subscribes to multiple telephone lines dials one of theuser's telephone numbers. If the user is away from the particular devicethat is called and does not answer the call, the caller typically leavesa message on a voicemail system. In the past, such voicemail systemshave been isolated on the network of the particular telephone line thatis called. Thus, to retrieve all messages, a user had to check thevoicemail system of each network separately.

Recognizing the trouble of constantly checking multiple voicemailsystems, messaging service providers (MSPs) developed voicemail systemsthat integrate incoming messages across different networks. Thus, forexample, a user could direct all messages for her wireline and wirelesstelephone lines to a single voicemail box. Consequently, the user wouldneed only to check a single voicemail box to retrieve all messages.

According to these standard voicemail systems, a voicemail platform isin communication with a central office switch. The central office switchis in communication with the wireline and wireless networks. Unansweredcalls to a subscriber's wireline and wireless telephone numbers arerouted to the voicemail platform through the central office. Thus,regardless of the particular telephone number the caller dials, allvoicemail messages end up in the same voicemail platform.

Despite providing centralized voicemail boxes, these integratedvoicemail services present difficulties in notifying a user of thereceipt of a message. Specifically, because all unanswered calls areforwarded through the central office to the voicemail platform, thevoicemail platform is responsible for activating message waitingindicators on all of the associated telephones (e.g., a stutter dialtone, an illuminated light, or a displayed icon). Thus, for example, ifa user away from his work office receives an unanswered call to hiswireline office telephone, and the call is forwarded to the voicemailplatform, which records a message, then, ideally, the user would want toreceive a message waiting indicator on his wireless telephone to reportto him that he has received a new voicemail message. This notificationwould avoid the burden of constantly checking the voicemail for messagesreceived through a remote telephone. Similarly, if the user is in hisoffice and receives a message through an unanswered call to his wirelesstelephone, which is turned off or out of range, the user would want toreceive an indication of the message on his office wireline telephone.

To provide message waiting indicators on all of a user's associatedtelephones, wireline network providers developed methods for supportingmessaging from the voicemail platform to a “foreign network.” As usedherein, “foreign network” refers to a network that is not local to thenetwork including the central office switch that serves the messageprovider. This local central office switch is sometimes referred toherein as the host switch.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical method and system for providing messagingfrom a voicemail platform to a foreign network. Messaging serviceprovider 100 contains a telephone list 102 indicating telephone numbersthat a subscriber to the messaging service has associated with hervoicemail box. An unanswered call to any of the listed telephone numbersis routed to messaging service provider 100 for the recording of amessage and the indicating of the recorded message. In this example, thesubscriber has associated with the messaging service a wirelinetelephone number, 404-332-212X, and two wireless telephone numbers,404-792-123X and 404-792-100X.

Telephone list 102 also contains an activation flag indicating whetherthe subscriber has subscribed to the message waiting indicator (MWI)feature for the particular telephone number (device). In some instances,for example, on a seldom-used mobile telephone, a subscriber might notcare to have nor want to pay for an MWI displayed on the telephone. Inthis example, the subscriber has opted for the MWI feature on twotelephone lines, 404-332-212X and 404-792-123X.

Once messaging service provider 100 receives an unanswered call to oneof the three telephone numbers and records a message, messaging serviceprovider 100 sends an MWI message for each of the activated telephonenumbers on list 102, For the wireline telephone number, messagingservice provider 100 transmits an MWI message to a host switch 104 usingInter-switch Simplified Message Desk Interface (ISMDI). Host switch 104is a central office switch. ISMDI is a signaling interface used by amessaging service provider to support incoming call and message waitingintegration between all supported switches in a Local Access andTransport Area (LATA). Simplified Message Desk Interface (SMDI) definessignaling between a messaging system and a central office switch, whichdefines the original intended destination of a forwarded call.

After receiving an MWI message for the wireline telephone number404-332-212X, host switch 104 determines if it “owns” (i.e., isassociated with) the NPA/NXX (NPA—Numbering Plan Area/NXX—a specificcentral office) corresponding to the telephone number, and further, ifit owns the particular number (last four digits). In this example, hostswitch 104 does own 404-332-212X. Therefore, host switch 104 activatesan MWI on the subscriber's wireline telephone 106, which could be astutter dial tone, for example.

For the wireless telephone number 404-792-123X, messaging serviceprovider 100 forwards to host switch 104 an ISMDI MWI message thatreferences the wireless telephone number. Host switch 104 determinesthat it does not own 404-792, and in response, forwards to a signaltransfer point 108 an MWI message using a non-call-associated SignalingSystem 7 (SS7) signaling protocol, such as Transaction CapabilityApplication Part (TCAP).

Wireline network signal transfer point 108 contains a table 110 thatcross-references NPA/NXXs with network point codes. Point codes identifyevery node in the SS7 network in the format NKN CCC XXX, where NNN is anetwork identifier, CCC is a cluster identifier, and XXX is the nodeidentifier. In this example, table 110 shows that 404-792 corresponds topoint code 001.002.052. With this routing information, wireline networksignal transfer point 108 transmits a TCAP message to wireless networksignal transfer point 112, which services the wireless network 114corresponding to point code 001.002.052. In this example, wirelessnetwork 114 is the foreign network.

Within wireless network 114, protocol gateway 116 translates the TCAPMWI message to a signaling protocol compatible with the wirelessnetwork, for example, Interim Standard 41 (IS41). After the translation,protocol gateway 116 transmits an MWI message through mobile switchingcenter 118 and antenna 120 to the subscriber's wireless telephone 122.In response to the MWI message, wireless telephone 122 indicates that amessage has been recorded in messaging service provider 100 by, forexample, displaying an icon on its screen.

According to the conventional method shown in FIG. 1, routing is basedon the 6-digit NPA/NXX, relying on the fact that the networks to whichthe foreign network telephone numbers belong (which, in this example,are wireless telephone numbers of a wireless network) can be identifiedbased solely on the NPA/NXX. In other words, the method assumes thateach NPA/NXX, as a block of 10,000 telephone numbers, is wholly owned bya single foreign network carrier (e.g., a single wireless carrier).Under this assumption, the host wireline telephone network can route allcalls for a NPA/NXX to a particular trunk group of a foreign networkcarrier.

Unfortunately, not all NPA/NXXs are wholly owned by a single carrier. Infact, within a block of 10,000 telephone numbers in a NPA/NXX, somenumbers may be assigned to the wireline network, some may be assigned toa wireless network, and still others may be assigned to other wirelineand wireless networks. As used herein, a “shared NPA/NXX” refers to thissituation, in which the block of 10,000 telephone numbers in an NPA/NXXis assigned to more than one entity. Therefore, to forward messagewaiting indicator messages to the proper foreign network carrier of aparticular foreign network telephone number, the routing network mustdistinguish the foreign network telephone numbers from the other networknumbers on a more granular basis. In other words, the routing networkmust identify the different networks to which individual telephonenumbers within a single shared NPA/NXX belong.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a method and system for forwarding information,such as a message waiting indicator message, to a telephone number of aforeign network (e.g., a wireless network) that is part of a sharedNPA/NXX. Rather than relying on the simple 6-digit NPA/NXX routing ofthe prior art that is suitable only for wholly owned NPA/NXXs, themethod and system of the present invention evaluate individual telephonenumbers of shared NPA/NXXs to determine where, i.e., to what networks,information should be sent. As such, the present invention enablestelephone service providers to provide customers having a telephonenumber of a shared NPA/NXX with the ability to receive a message waitingindicator on the telephone of the shared NPA/NXX telephone number. Thisexpanded service offering widens a telephone service provider's customerbase and generates increased profits.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the method andsystem use a service control point (SCP) and service package application(SPA) to deliver an MWI message from a messaging service provider to awireless (i.e., foreign network) telephone number of a shared NPA/NXX,In addition, shared NPA/NXXs are marked as “portable” in a signaltransfer point. Thus, when the signal transfer point receives an MWImessage for a telephone number of a shared NPA/NXX, the signal transferroutes the MWI message to the service control point.

The service control point determines whether the shared NPA/NXXtelephone number associated with the MWI message requires the specialrouting defined by this invention or requires conventional local numberportability (LNP) network routing. (LNP network routing is described inthe following publications which are incorporated by reference herein intheir entireties: Generic Switching and Signaling Requirements, Versions1.00 (Feb. 12, 1996), 1.01 (Apr. 3, 1996), 1.02 (Jun. 17, 1996), 1.03(Sep. 4, 1996), 1.04 (Jan. 20, 1997), and 1.05 (Aug. 1, 1997), LucentTechnologies; Illinois Number Portability Workshop, SCP5 GenericRequirements, Ameritech; Illinois Number Portability Workshop, SMSGeneric Requirements, Ameritech; Illinois Number Portability Workshop,Generic Operator Services Switching Requirements (Issue 1.1, Jun. 20,1996), Nortel Networks; Maryland Number Portability Consortium, GenericSwitching and Signaling Requirements (Draft Version 1.0, Apr. 26, 1996).The service control point makes this determination by ascertainingwhether the telephone number has a subscription. If the telephone numberis without a subscription, the telephone number is not affected by thespecial routing of the present invention and the service control pointformulates routing instructions according to standard LNP global titleinstructions (for example, as described in the above references). If thetelephone number has a subscription, then the telephone number belongsto a foreign network that is an exception to LNP routing, in which casethe service control point consults an inter-switch voicemail routing(ISVMR) service package application to formulate routing instructions.

The ISVMR service package application determines the carrieridentification of the non-local foreign network to which the sharedNPA/NXX telephone number belongs. The ISVMR service package applicationalso determines from the carrier identification the corresponding pointcode to which the MWI message should be routed. The ISVMR servicepackage application returns this information to the service controlpoint routing software and the service control point returns the messageand its new routing instructions to the signal transfer point to routethe MWI message to a signal transfer point that serves the appropriateforeign network.

Thus, in this representative embodiment, by distinguishing betweensubscription telephone numbers (numbers belonging to a foreign networkthat is not handled by LNP processing) and non-subscription (numbersbelonging to a network that is handled by LNP processing) telephonenumbers, the service control point is able to identify the differentnetworks to which individual telephone numbers within a single sharedNPA/NXX belong. Consequently, the MWI message can be delivered to theindividual telephones of the different networks.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to deliverinformation to telephone numbers corresponding to shared NPA/NXXs andforeign networks.

Another object of the present invention is to integrate wirelesstelephones into a wireline messaging environment.

Another object of the present invention is to identify the differentnetworks to which individual telephone numbers within a single sharedNPA/NXX belong for the purpose of delivering signaling messages to theindividual telephones of the different networks.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cost-effectivemeans for providing message waiting indicators on telephone numbersassociated with shared NPA/NXXs and foreign networks, especiallywireless networks.

These and other objects of the present invention are described ingreater detail in the detailed description of the invention, theappended drawings, and the attached claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art system architecture thatsupports messaging from a voicemail platform to a wireless network.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture that uses aservice control point (SCP) and service package application (SPA) todeliver an MWI message to a wireless telephone number of a sharedNPA/NXX, according to a second representative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b are flowcharts tracing the steps of the informationflow of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As illustrated by the following representative embodiments, the presentinvention is a method and system for forwarding information to a foreignnetwork telephone number that is part of a shared NPA/NXX. In thisrepresentative embodiment, the information is a message waitingindicator (MWI) message from a messaging service provider and theforeign network is a wireless network.

Referring to FIG. 2, a representative embodiment of the presentinvention provides a method and system that uses a service control point(SCP) and service package application (SPA) to deliver an MWI message toa wireless telephone number of a shared NPA/NXX. The primary componentsof the system include a messaging service provider 200, a wirelinenetwork signal transfer point 208, a service control point 230, and aninter-switch voicemail routing (ISVMR) service package application 232.

Messaging service provider 200 includes a telephone list 202 for eachsubscriber of the voicemail service. Telephone list 202 indicates theparticular telephone numbers to which an MWI message is sent whenmessaging service provider 200 records a message for the subscriber.Telephone list 202 contains flags indicating which telephone numbers areto receive MWI messages, which in this example are numbers 404-332-212X,404-792-123X, 404-454-888X, and 404-792-222X.

Wireline network signal transfer point 208 is in communication withmessaging service provider 200 through host switch 204. Host switch 204is also in communication with wireline telephone 206, which is local tohost switch 204. Wireline network signal transfer point 208 includes aglobal title translation (GTT) table 210 that associates NPA/NXXs withpoint codes. In this manner, wireline network signal transfer point 208routes a message to a particular point code based on the NPA/NXX of thetelephone number referenced in the message. This translation is similarto translations completed outside the context of local numberportability (LNP). In this example, the NPA/NXX 404-792 is associatedwith the point code 252.300.100, and the NPA/NXX 404-454 is associatedwith the point code 252.050.005.

Service control point 230 is in communication with wireline networksignal transfer point 208, with LNP GTT service package application(SPA) 231, and with ISVMR service package application 232, Althoughshown as separate components, LNP GTT service package application 231and ISVMR service package application 232 could be contained withinservice control point 230.

ISVMR service package application 232 contains a translation table 233that associates carrier identifications (IDs) with point codes, forexample, carrier 2021 corresponds to point code 001.002.052, as shown inFIG. 2. Preferably, the carrier IDs are Operating Company Numbers(OCNs), which are codes used in the telephone industry to identify anoperating landline or wireless telephone company. ISVMR service packageapplication 232 is in communication with a subscriptions database 234,which, although shown as a separate component, could be a part of ISVMRservice package application 232. Subscriptions database 234 contains atranslation table 236 that associates 10-digit telephone numbers withtelephone network carriers. In this example, telephone number404-792-123X is associated with carrier 2021. Carrier 2021 correspondsto a wireless network 214.

To complete the description of the system architecture in which thepresent invention operates, wireline network signal transfer point 208is in communication with a shared NPA/NXX central office switch 240,with a non-shared NPA/NXX central office switch 242, and with a wirelessnetwork signal transfer point 212. Central office switches 240 and 242are adapted to receive an MWI message from wireline network signaltransfer point 208 and to activate an MWI on the telephone numberreferenced in the received message, which is a telephone number servedby the switch. In this example, shared NPA/NXX central office switch 240serves telephone 246 and non-shared NPA/NXX central office switch 242serves telephone 244.

Wireless network signal transfer point 212 of wireless network 214 isadapted to receive an MWI message from wireline network signal transferpoint 208 and to forward the message to a particular point code. In thiscase, wireless network signal transfer point 212 is in communicationwith protocol gateway 216. Protocol gateway 216 has the particular pointcode to which wireless network signal transfer point 212 sends MWImessages. Protocol gateway 216 receives MWI messages in SS7 format andtranslates the messages into a format suitable for wireless network 214,e.g.,IS41, Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM), or ShortMessage Service (SMS). Protocol gateway 216 delivers the MWI message towireless telephone 222 through a mobile switch 218 and an antenna 220.

According to this representative embodiment of the present invention,the system operates in the following manner, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 a,and 3 b. Although the methods described in the specification andillustrated in the figures contain many specific examples of signalingflow steps, these steps should not be construed as limitations on thescope of the invention. Rather, these steps should be construed asexamples of signaling flow steps that could be used to practice theinvention. As would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art,many other variations on the system operation are possible, includingdifferently grouped and ordered method steps. Accordingly, for this andall other representative embodiments, the scope of the invention shouldbe determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

In step 300, messaging service provider 200 receives an unanswered callto a telephone line of the subscriber and records a voicemail messagefrom the caller. (In advance of step 300, FIG. 3 assumes thatappropriate provisioning has taken place within the network on behalf ofthe subscriber to make the service of the present invention available).In step 302, messaging service provider 200 consults list 202 todetermine the telephone numbers that are to receive MWI messages. Instep 304, messaging service provider 200 sends ISMDI MWI messages tohost switch 204 for each telephone number that has an MWI flagactivated, which in this case is the subscriber's wireline telephonenumbers 404-332-212X, 404-454-888X, and 404-792-222X, and thesubscriber's wireless telephone number 404-792-123X.

In step 306, host switch 204 receives the MWI messages and determineswhether the telephone number referenced in each MWI message is local tohost switch 204. If the telephone number is local, then, in step 306 a,host switch 204 activates the MWI on the telephone number referenced inthe MWI message. In this example, the NPA/NXX 404-332 is local to hostswitch 204. Thus, host switch activates the MWI on telephone number404-332-212X, corresponding to telephone 206.

If the telephone number referenced in the MWI message is not local tohost switch 204, in step 306 b, host switch 204 forwards the MWI messageto wireline network signal transfer point 208 for further routing. Hostswitch 204 forwards the MWI message in the form of TCAP message. In thisexample, the MWI messages for 404-792-123X, 404-454-888X, and404-792-222X are not local to the NPA/NXX (404-332) of host switch 204,and are therefore forwarded to wireline network signal transfer point208.

In step 307, wireline network signal transfer point 208 receives theTCAP MWI messages and looks up the NPA/NXX for each MWI message in GTTtranslation table 210. In associating NPA/NXXs with point codes, GTTtranslation table 210 distinguishes between portable and non-portabletelephone numbers. Messages to non-portable telephone numbers areforwarded to the point code of a central office switch that wholly ownsthe NPA/NXX. Messages to portable telephone numbers are forwarded to thepoint code of a local number portability global title translationservice control point, which is service control point 230 in thisexample. If not already marked as portable, shared NPA/NXXs must bemarked portable so that they are forwarded to a service control point(SCP 230) that determines the networks to which individual telephonenumbers of a shared NPA/NXX belong.

Thus, in the present example, the MWI message for 404-454-888Xcorresponds to the entry in GTT table 210 listing the NPA/NXX 404-454and the point code 252.050.005. The point code 252.050.005 correspondsto central office switch 242, which wholly owns the 404-454 NPA/NXX. TheMWI messages for 404-792-123X and 404-792-222X correspond to the entryin GTT table 210 listing the NPA/NXX 404-792 and the point code252.300.100. The point code 250.300.100 corresponds to service controlpoint 230 because the 404-792 NPA/NXX is a shared NPA/NXX that requiresfurther processing to determine the networks to which the telephonenumbers 404-792-123X and 404-792-222X belong.

In step 307, if wireline network signal transfer point 208 determinesthat the MWI message references a telephone number of a wholly ownedNPA/NXX (i.e., the telephone number is non-portable), then in step 307 awireline network signal transfer point 208 forwards the MWI message tothe point code of the central office switch that owns the NPA/NXX. Inthis case, wireline signal transfer point 208 forwards the MWI messageto central office switch 242 (which corresponds to point code252.050.005). Then, in step 307 b, central office switch 242 activatesthe MWI on the telephone number referenced in the MWI message, which inthis case is 404-454-888X.

If wireline network signal transfer point 208 determines in step 307that the MWI message references a telephone number that is portable, instep 307 d the MWI message is forwarded to the point code of a servicecontrol point that ascertains the network to which the telephone numberreferenced in the MWI message belongs. Here, wireless network signaltransfer point 208 forwards the MWI messages for telephone numbers404-792-123X and 404-792-222X to point code 252.300.100, whichcorresponds to service control point 230.

In step 308, service control point 230 determines whether the owner ofthe telephone number referenced in the MWI message subscribes to ISVMR.A subscription to ISVMR indicates that the NPA/NXX of the referencedtelephone number is shared, whereas no subscription indicates that theNPA/NXX of the referenced telephone number is not shared and that theMWI message corresponding to the reference telephone number should behandled by LNP processing. Service control point 230 determines whethera subscription exists by querying ISVMR service package application 232.ISVMR service package application 232 searches for the telephone numberin table 236 of subscription database 234.

If the telephone number is not in subscription database 234, servicecontrol point 230 recognizes that the telephone number is a wirelinetelephone number of the shared NPA/NXX. As such, in step 308 a, servicecontrol point 230 submits the MWI message to LNP GTT service packageapplication 231 for traditional local number portability routing. Inthis example, the MWI message referencing the telephone number404-792-222X is not listed in subscription database 236 and is thereforedeemed to be a wireline telephone number of the shared NPA/NXX 404-792.

In step 308 b, LNP GTT service package application 231 performs a10-digit global title translation on the wireline telephone number404-792-222X to determine its point code, which in this case is006.060.006. LNP GTT service package application 231 sends this pointcode 006.060.006 in routing instructions to wireline network signaltransfer point 208, along with the MWI message. In step 308 c, wirelinenetwork signal transfer point 208 forwards the MWI message to the pointcode 006.060.006, which corresponds to central office switch 240. Instep 308 d, central office switch 240 activates the MWI on telephone246, which corresponds to telephone number 404-792-222X.

If, in step 308, ISVMR service package application 232 determines thatthe telephone number is listed in table 236 of subscription database230, service control point 230 recognizes that the owner of thetelephone number referenced in the MWI message subscribes to ISVMR andthat the referenced telephone number belongs to a shared NPA/NXX. Tocomplete routing, service control point 230 must have the point code ofthe network carrier to which the telephone number referenced in the MWImessage belongs.

Therefore, in step 308 e (FIG. 3 b), ISVMR service package application232 consults subscription database 236 for the carrier identificationassociated with the telephone number referenced in the MWI message. Forexample, in this case, the telephone number 404-792-123X yields thecarrier identification 2021, which is assigned to wireless network 214.ISVMR service package application 232 then consults translation table233 to determine the point code corresponding to the carrieridentification. In this example, carrier identification 2021 correspondsto point code 001. 002.052, which is assigned to protocol gateway 216within wireless network 214.

In step 310, service control point 230 formulates routing instructionsfrom the point code information supplied by ISVMR service packageapplication 232 and transmits the routing instructions to wirelinenetwork signal transfer point 208. In step 312, wireline network signaltransfer point 208 routes the MWI message to the point code listed inthe routing instructions. In this example, the MWI message is routed asa TCAP message through wireless network signal transfer point 212 toprotocol gateway 216.

In step 314, protocol gateway 216 translates the MWI message from TCAPto a protocol compatible with wireless network 214, e.g., IS41, GSM, orSMS. Protocol gateway 216 then transmits the translated MWI messagethrough mobile switch 218 and antenna 220, and to wireless telephone222.

Finally, in response to receiving the MWI message, in step 316, the MWIof wireless telephone 222 is activated, e.g., an icon is displayed on ascreen.

Although the above embodiments are presented in the context of MWImessages delivered to a wireless network for display on a wirelesstelephone, the present invention applies equally well to any situationin which a network must distinguish between telephone numbers of ashared NPA/NXX to determine to which foreign network information shouldbe sent. In the above example, the foreign network is a wireless networkthat takes the MWI message, translates it to its own protocol, anddelivers it to a wireless telephone, which activates an MWI for a userto see. The functions of the present invention are completed before theMWI message is delivered to the foreign network. Therefore, as one ofordinary skill in the art would appreciate, the same systems and methodswould apply to any foreign network, even other wireline networks. Forexample, the present invention applies to interworking message systemsbetween independent or private wireline networks.

The foreign network could also be a global computer network, such as theInternet. In this alternate embodiment, the method and system of thepresent invention deliver information (e.g., an MWI message), through anappropriate protocol gateway, over the Internet to a user's networkaccess device, e.g., a computer or wireless handheld access device.Thus, if a user is online and away from his telephone(s), anInternet-based MWI can alert the user of new messages received in hisvoicemail box. As an example, the Internet-based MWI could be a pop-upwindow displayed over the graphical user interface of a web browser. Or,conversely, using an SS7/IP gateway, the present invention could deliverIP messages to a signal transfer point.

In addition, although the representative embodiment of the presentinvention is described in the context of voicemail and the delivery ofMWI messages, the present invention is not limited to the delivery ofthis type of information. Indeed, the present invention applies to allsituations in which any information must be sent to telephone numbersassociated with a shared NPA/NXX and a foreign network. The informationcould be messages, such as electronic mail, facsimiles, or anyInternet-related events, such as auction notifications or stock pricethreshold alerts. As another example, the present invention providessignificant advantages for integrated unified messaging systems, inwhich a mailbox stores data from multiple media, such as facsimile,electronic mail, and voicemail. The present invention would facilitatethe delivery of an indicator showing that data has been received in themailbox of an integrated unified messaging system. Moreover, in additionto just an indicator, the present invention could also facilitate thedelivery of the data stored in the mailbox.

The foregoing disclosure of embodiments of the present invention hasbeen presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formsdisclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodimentsdescribed herein will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art inlight of the above disclosure. The scope of the invention is to bedefined only by the claims appended hereto, and by their equivalents.

1. A method for forwarding a message waiting indicator message to atelephone number, wherein the method determines whether the telephonenumber belongs to an associated network, the method comprising: marking,in a system, the telephone number as portable; forwarding a messagewaiting indicator message to an element in a network; determiningwhether a subscription exists for the telephone number; and if asubscription exists, then consulting an application to selectivelydetermine a network associated with the telephone number; transmittingthe message waiting indicator message to the system with routinginstructions that reference the associated network; and transmitting themessage waiting indicator message to the associated network.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: if no subscription exists, thenperforming a local number portability global title translation;transmitting the message waiting indicator message to the system withrouting instructions that reference a local number; and transmitting themessage waiting indicator message to the local number.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein consulting an application to selectively determine anetwork associated with the telephone number comprises: consulting adatabase that cross-references the telephone number with a networkidentification corresponding to an associated network; and consulting atranslation table that cross-references the network identification withthe associated network.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the associatednetwork is a wireless network.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein themessage waiting indicator message is forwarded by an integrated unifiedmessaging system, and wherein the message waiting indicator messagecomprises an indicator message for indicating receipt of data in theintegrated unified messaging system.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe associated network comprises a global computer network.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the global computer network comprises theInternet and the message waiting indicator message comprises anInternet-based message waiting indicator message.
 8. The method of claim7, wherein the Internet-based message waiting indicator messagegenerates a pop-up window displayed over a graphical user interface of aweb browser.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:translating the message waiting indicator message to a protocolcompatible with the associated network; transmitting the message waitingindicator message to a telephone of the associated network, wherein thetelephone corresponds to the telephone number; and indicating receipt ofthe message waiting indicator message on the telephone.
 10. The methodof claim 2, further comprising the steps of: translating the messagewaiting indicator message to a protocol compatible with the associatednetwork; transmitting the message waiting indicator message to atelephone of the associated network, wherein the telephone correspondsto the telephone number; and indicating receipt of the message waitingindicator message on the telephone.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereinthe step of marking the telephone number as portable in a system furthercomprises listing a designated network element associated with thesystem,
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forwarding themessage waiting indicator message to a system comprises forwarding themessage waiting indicator message to the designated network elementassociated with the system.
 13. A system for forwarding a messagewaiting indicator message to a telephone number of a network, whereinthe system determines whether the telephone number belongs to anassociated network, the system comprising: a first network element; atranslation table to which the network element has access, wherein thetranslation table marks telephone numbers of networks as portable andassociates a designated network element with each telephone number; asecond network element communicatively coupled with the first networkelement, wherein the second network element corresponds to thedesignated network element; and a first application communicativelycoupled with the second network element, wherein the first applicationis adapted to determine a designated network element associated with aparticular telephone number.
 14. The system of claim 13, furthercomprising a second application communicatively coupled with the secondnetwork element, wherein the second application is adapted to performlocal number portability global title translation.
 15. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the message waiting indicator message is forwarded bya messaging service provider to the first network element, wherein thefirst network element looks up the telephone number in the translationtable, determines whether the telephone number is portable, and, if so,finds the associated designated network element and forwards the messagewaiting indicator message to the second network element, wherein thesecond network element determines if the telephone number has asubscription and forwards telephone numbers having a subscription to thefirst application and telephone numbers not having a subscription to thesecond application, wherein the first application determines designatednetwork elements associated with telephone numbers having subscriptionsand returns routing instructions to the first network element, andwherein the second application performs a local number portabilityglobal title translation on telephone numbers not having subscriptionsand returns routing instructions to the first network element.
 16. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the designated network element correspondsto an associated network.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein theassociated network is a wireless network and the first network elementis contained in a wireline network.
 18. The system of claim 13, whereinthe message waiting indicator message is forwarded by an integratedunified messaging system and the message waiting indicator message is anindicator message for indicating receipt of data in the integratedunified messaging system.
 19. The system of claim 13, further comprisinga third network element in communication with the first network element,wherein the third network element is adapted to translate the messagewaiting indicator message to a protocol compatible with an associatednetwork.
 20. The system of claim 19, further comprising: a mobilenetwork element in communication with the third network element; anantenna in communication with the mobile network element; and a wirelesstelephone in communication with the antenna, wherein the wirelesstelephone corresponds to the particular telephone number.
 21. The systemof claim 20, wherein, in response to receiving a message waitingindicator message referencing the particular telephone number, themobile network element activates one of a message waiting indicator andan indicator showing data has been received on the wireless telephone.22. The system of claim 13, wherein the first application comprises: adatabase that cross-references telephone numbers with an associatednetwork; and a translation table that cross-references a plurality ofassociated networks with designated network elements.
 23. A networkelement for forwarding a message waiting indicator message to atelephone number of a network, the network element comprising: asubscriptions database that lists telephone numbers that subscribe to aservice for forwarding a message waiting indicator message from amessage service provider to a telephone of a network; a firstapplication that generates routing instructions using local numberportability global title translation; and a second application thatgenerates routing instructions by determining a designated associatednetwork corresponding to a particular telephone number, wherein if thenetwork element receives a message waiting indicator message intendedfor a telephone that is not listed in the subscriptions database, thenetwork element generates routing instructions using the firstapplication, wherein if the network element receives a message waitingindicator message intended for a telephone number listed in thesubscriptions database, the network element generates routinginstructions using the second application.
 24. The network element ofclaim 23, wherein the subscriptions database lists the telephone numberswith their associated network identifications and the second applicationcontains a table cross-referencing a network identification with anassociated network element.
 25. The network element of claim 24, whereinthe second application determines an associated network corresponding toa particular telephone number by consulting the subscriptions databaseto determine a network identification corresponding to the particulartelephone and consulting the table to determine the network associatedwith the network identification.
 26. The network element of claim 24,wherein the telephone numbers in the subscriptions database are 10-digittelephone numbers and the network identifications in the subscriptionsdatabase are operating company numbers.
 27. The network element of claim23, wherein the message waiting indicator message is forwarded by anintegrated unified messaging system, and wherein the message waitingindicator message is an indicator message for indicating receipt of datain the integrated unified messaging system.
 28. A method for determiningto which network a telephone number belongs, wherein the telephonenumber is associated with a message waiting indicator message, themethod comprising the steps of: forwarding a message waiting indicatormessage to a network element; searching for a telephone number in asubscriptions database; if the telephone number is not in thesubscriptions database, performing a local number portability globaltitle translation on the telephone number; and if the telephone numberis in the subscriptions database, determining a network associated withthe telephone number.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein determining anetwork associated with the telephone number comprises: consulting thesubscriptions database to determine a network identification associatedwith the telephone number; and consulting a table that cross-referencesa network identification with a network to determine a networkassociated with the network identification.
 30. The method of claim 29,wherein the telephone numbers in the subscriptions database comprise10-digit telephone numbers and the network identifications in thesubscriptions database comprise operating company numbers.
 31. Themethod of claim 28, wherein the message waiting indicator message isforwarded by an integrated unified messaging system, and wherein themessage waiting indicator message comprises an indicator message forindicating receipt of data in the integrated unified messaging system.32. The method of claim 31, wherein the message waiting indicatormessage further includes the data.
 33. The method of claim 28, whereinthe associated network comprises a global computer network.
 34. Themethod of claim 33, wherein the global computer network comprises theInternet and the message waiting indicator message comprises anInternet-based message waiting indicator message.
 35. The method ofclaim 34, wherein the Internet-based message waiting indicator messagegenerates a pop-up window displayed over a graphical user interface of aweb browser.